HIMACHAL PRADESH NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, SHIMLA

SUBJECT: LEGAL METHODS

TOPIC: INTERVIEW AS A TOOL FOR DATA COLLECTION

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Dr. Rohit Sharma Vihaan Acharya

1st Semester, B.A. LLB. (Hons.)

No. – 1020212269
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project has been successful with great efforts and dedication and immense help from
numerous people. Every work and every worker needs assistance and help in completing a
task. I sincerely express my gratitude and appreciation towards everyone who helped me in
this assignment.

I, Vihaan Acharya, a student of Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla would
like to express my special note of thanks to my assignment guide and mentor, Dr. Rohit
Sharma for her guidance and mentorship during the project.
 DECLARATION

I, Vihaan Acharya, 1st year B.A. LLB. Student at Himachal Pradesh National Law University,
Shimla hereby declare that this assignment has been completed by me and this has not been
submitted in any other university.

I declare that I have not copied my assignment from any resource and have authentically
subscribed to the formal ethics and values while completing my assignment.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DATA COLLECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Data Collection is referred to the process of collecting/gathering and measuring facts, figures
and other information, which would be useful for answering relevant questions and predict
outcomes. Data Collection is not limited to a stream or field of study, but is applicable to, and
useful for all kinds of Research required in all study types.

Data collection is that the process of gathering and measuring information on targeted
variables in a longtime system, which then enables one to answer relevant questions and
evaluate outcomes. Data collection may be a research component altogether study fields,
including physical and social sciences, humanities, and business. While methods vary by
discipline, the stress on ensuring accurate and honest collection remains an equivalent . The
goal for all data collection is to capture quality evidence that permits analysis to steer to the
formulation of convincing and credible answers to the questions that are posed. Data
collection and validation consists of 4 steps when it involves taking a census and 7 steps
when it involves sampling.

Regardless of the sector of study or preference for outlining data (quantitative or qualitative),
accurate data collection is important to take care of research integrity. The choice of
appropriate data collection instruments (existing, modified, or newly developed) and
delineated instructions for his or her correct use reduce the likelihood of errors.

A formal data collection process is important because it ensures that the info gathered are
both defined and accurate. This way, subsequent decisions supported arguments embodied
within the findings are made using valid data. The method provides both a baseline from
which to live and in certain cases a sign of what to enhance.

There are 5 common data collection methods:-

 Closed-ended surveys and quizzes,

 Open-ended surveys and questionnaires,
 1-on-1 interviews,
 Focus groups
 Direct observation
 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . INTERVIEW AS A TOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interview comes under Direct Observation method of Data Collection.

The interview is conversation with a purpose and, therefore, is quite a mere oral exchange of
data. Its importance arises from the need to return into contact with individuals to get access
to facts and opinions and to receive them directly from the persons. Where the source is
accessible to the investigator, the interview is that the device to tap it; and if it's not easily
reachable, the questionnaire is that the means. Aside from accessibility, the controlling
thinking about the success of that particular interview is that the reaction of the personalities
involved? The investigator and therefore the respondent. The interview, as a search tool, has
certain advantages, which become more important in an underdeveloped country. Being
always direct, it's the sole way by which certain sorts of information are often obtained. it's as
trustworthy a way of getting facts as participant observation is. Being highly flexible, it
permits of maximum variation in directing the inquiry and herein scores over the
questionnaire. People unable or unwilling to answer even the shortest questionnaire, will talk,
and freely too, due to the informality of the occasion. The interview helps to supplement
personal information and check on experience and concepts. The interviewer's usage of a tool
can be compared with a physician when he talks to a patient to explain how he feels and what
he thinks is the matter with him.

As Eigelberner remarks, 'The contact of minds, a touch here, a suggestion there, results in the
birth of ideas which could not are conceived except for the stimulation of thediscussion." An
offhand remark may suggest a replacement angle of approach or an answer . the pliability and
other advantages of the interview depend largely on the approach and knowledge of the
person conducting it. If he can control the interview tactfully, lots of data and attitudes are
often drawn out, specially if the direction of enquiry are often imperceptibly changed.

Its limitations: aside from the very fact that the usefulness of the device depends on the
standard of the interviewer, other limiting factors are time, space and expense. In average
investigations, specially those conducted in underdeveloped areas, there's time just for a
limited use of the interview then the chance for errors is increased. The interview is
additionally limited in its use to a specific locality ; and since personal contact is important ,
tons more of expense than within the questionnaire is involved. quite all, an excellent
weakness is that the tendency towards the inaccuracy and offhand character of the many of
the statements, often perhaps with an honest doze of exaggeration.

These limitations of the tool resolve themselves into two types':

(1) those related to the respondent: his inability or unwillingness to supply certain sorts of
information, e.g., his income and expenditure, direct judgement on himself etc.; his bias in
reporting; i.e., the more personal the info , the greater is that this bias; and memory bias.
These limitations are often neutralised by a patient, skilful and sympathetic interview?which
means understanding of the psychological basis of interviewing and systematic training in
questioning.

(2) Those related to the restrictions and bias of the interviewer himself his preconceptions,
method of recording, follow-up questions then on. Careful selection of the interviewer and
his proper and practical training could overcome these drawbacks. The risk of letting loose
new and raw investigators or maybe unsystematically or partiallv trained ones to collect data
is indeed formidable. the type of knowledge to be collected and therefore the procedure of
collecting them, which determine the sort of coaching for the interviewer, are broadly of three
types: (i) diagnostic, i.e., to get information regarding the life or attitudes of the respondent or
to clear up the general picture for determining some focus ; (ii) theraupatic, i.e., to get data
for working over a programme or to assist the development of the personality of the
respondent or aiding him in social adjustment; (iii) research, i.e., to gather data not
objectively stated but necessary to know a social situation for scientific analysis and
interpretation. Many of the investigations being undertaken in India to-day are of the primary
and second varieties. The respondents : The interview could also be confined to at least one
type or class of persons or quite one type, and therefore the technique varies consistent with
the type. Broadly, there are three sorts of interviewees :?(i) the person during a position of
authority, sometimes called the potentate ; (2) the one with special knowledge, i.e., the
expert; (3) the person within the street, i.e., the masses. for instance , in investigating
industrial labour, the boss or manager of a factory is that the potentate, the trade union chiefs
and therefore the labour officers, are the experts, and therefore the actual workers altogether
their hierarchy, the people. In community projects, the chiefs or sub-chiefs are the potentates;
the consultants, the expert; and therefore the villagers, the masses. By and enormous , the
potentate helps with permission, the expert together with his specialised knowledge, and
therefore the masses with facts and feelings. Although the technique described below applies
to all or any the three types, a couple of special hints could also be noted.

The essential thing in interviewing the boss is to avoid friction with him and check out to
convert the investigation into a joint effort. To do this, it's advisable to start with a daily
series of motivating interviews, first explaining the aim and therefore the project so on gain
the understanding and sympathy of the potentate ; next, explain the small print so on arouse
the curiosity of the boss ; sometimes in this process, the small print will need to be modified ;
and eventually , in later interviews test facts and secure corroboration so on act as a
corrective to arm-chair planning. The experts, specially on social problems, tend to differ
among themselves then their examination reveals areas of conflict and obscurity. The expert
is that the start line of scientific enquiry and, as he feels he's an authority, avoid giving him
the impression that his opinion is merely one among the various aspects to be considered in
arriving at the reality . it's interviewing the masses that basically forms the principal
application of the tool. Most of the enquiries haunted in India today are associated with the
masses, specially within the rural areas. A knowledge of the individual and individual
behaviour is important to create up confidence and insight. Richness of impressions and
precision in data should be the target . during a mass interview, richness is often sacrificed for
quantitative data, while within the theraupatic one. The opposite is true. One should
essentially be an honest listener.

Recording one among the experiences in an populated area , an investigator observes : "In
certain cases, the informants in their over-enthusiasm would narrate their tales to the
interviewer and therefore the latter had to concentrate to them patiently.'5 But even an off-
the-cuff visit to several of the investigators at their work would show how difficult it's to be a
good listener. this is often so partly due to the limited time factor, speed often conflicting
with depth or penetration, i.e., close relationship, but largely due to the shortage of systematic
training within the interviewing technique.

The technique : Not all techniques in interviewing are equally useful altogether cases. Thus,
in counselling interviews, where collection of knowledge is not the target , the non-directive
sort of interview is right . This consists during a friendly, receptive and non-didactic attitude,
requiring lot of restraint on the a part of the interviewer. The interviewer's primary duty is to
assist the informant to unburden himself. Fatient listening, non-display of authority, absence
of recommendation and argument and skill to adopt temporarily the beliefs and attitudes of
every of the informants characterise this system . So great is that the skill needed during this
theraupatic approach that interviewers sometimes undergo a course in personal psycho-
analysis.

A way more useful to the scientist is that the framed interview where interview is directed to
particular aspects, e.g., in urban surveys. Range and depth become the tests of the standard of
the interview, range indicated by the info confirming or refuting the hypothesis, and depth by
the intensity of private feeling brought out. A special approach becomes necessary when life
histories are to be elicited and here the thinking technique is more handy. This consists in
regarding the informant as representing a gaggle, emphasising configuration in time i.e.,
regarding experience from childhood through to adulthood as a related continuous process,
and conceptualising the life history material. This approach gives not only valuable
biographical material but also direct insight into the social situation.

A more interesting technique employed in economic investigation is that of the informal

interview, i.e., indirect conversation as against the quicker question-and-answer method. This
approach is specially suited to enquiries about, for instance , unemployment, which can be
best assessed through the eyes of the unemployed himself. During a recent enquiry into
employment, income and savings in an urban centre, the interviewer summed up thus :?"In
many cases, the investigator had to speak to the informants about things in general in order
that they might not feel that that they had disclosed their personal affairs."Of late, the
informal interview has been resurrected as an independent and dependable tool for scientific
enquiry. Relying on this approach in his Labour, Life and Poverty, Prof. Zweig remarks : "I
dropped the thought of a questionnaire or formal verbal questions suggests within the course
of speech; instead, I had casual talks with labor men on an absolutely equal footing and in
friendly intercourse...The enquiry became to me one among my greatest experiences of life. I
learned more about life within the course of a few months than I had in a few years before,
sitting in libraries and teaching at universities." within the numerous enquiries into
unemployment in India, the less useful question and-answer method appears to be freely
employed.

The informal technique is related to indirect questioning characterised by a roundabout

approach and detailed questioning. it had been experienced that in rural areas and also among
the poorer and illiterate sections in urban regions and where the investigation associated with
complex problems like income, savings and investment, indirect questioning was perhaps the
sole successful device. The informal technique demands the study and observation of
individuals before beginning to interview them. It avoids the crudities of the mass interview
technique and ensures greater truthfulness than the questionnaire survey. to urge a real
sample of data , great skill and time in interviewing so as to penetrate into the informant's
mind are necessary.

Yet one more approach is that of the mass interview. It is marked by speed but not depth. it's
of such a routine nature that it are often administered by not-necessarily-creative workers and
may even be mechanised. It simplifies procedure at the expense of enrichment. it's applicable
to subjects which lend themselves to an objective approach, with minimum information,
requiring a simple, definite and precise answer disinterestedly with questions put in precise
form. the shape of the question, therefore, becomes important--not too vague or obscure in
meaning, not having stereotyped answers or with technical or unfamiliar words, etc. Multiple
questioning, the adoption of a scaling device, and scalogram analysis are supporting devices
of this system . Sometimes a pilot survey designed primarily as an exercise in methods of
asking questions and in recording answers would be of use. it's important to record all kinds
of observation recorded within the interview, to go away factual inquiries to the top of the
interview, to go away coding devices for fixing categories of data and to present leads to
sociometric diagrams.

The good danger within the mass interview is bias which should be minimised by employing
a second source of data for verification, by assessing the plausibility of answers (e.g., through
personal competence, direct knowledge, interest etc. of the informant), by minimising the
interception between the interviewer and therefore the interviewee, etc. If these are the role
and therefore the problems of interviewing, the importance of systematic training within the
technique of interviewing needs no emphasis.

Two facets of coaching: Successful interviewing has two facets?the personnel and therefore
the training ones. The personnel aspect lies within the selection of the investigators. Not all
are often a successful interviewer, for, success demands certain personal and social traits. If
an individual is too rigid, impatient and overbearing, he wouldn't go far. Inside, personal or
tip may often not be secured just because the investigator has no flair for the right manner of
approach. "The primary requisite of the seeker for private documents/' observes Prof.
Burgess, in Sociology and Social Research, "is a way of the dramatic altogether human life, a
sympathy broad enough to encompass the manifold diverse manifestations of attribute, even
people who are commonly considered shocking or outrageous. Both this dramatic sense and
this sympathetic attitude indispensable for fulfillment in securing personal documents
naturally develop under favorable conditions but also are susceptible to special training for
research work."

A number of the qualities needed within the investigator are sensitivity to social proprieties,
such nearly as good manners, mental alertness to affect changing situations and to require
quick decisions, ability to draw in people, smartness in anticipating the succeeding stages in
response and in controlling the direction of the interview, adaptation of manners and dress to
suit the actual situation and so on on. The personal qualities of the investigator have a
specific importance within the very first essential step in interviewing viz, building rapport
i.e., ensuring the co-operation of the respondent. this needs the investigator to not make
himself unwelcome but, on the opposite hand, develop the respondent's active interest within
the investigation. aside from the physical appearance and manners of the interviewer, it
might be useful to impress on the respondent that the goals which interest him also interest
the inquiry available. This might be achieved by a near suggestion of the interviewer's
interest in bringing a few change within the situation; for instance , during a slum and
housing enquiry, by the accurate and proper presentation of the slum dwellers' difficulties to
the concerned authorities and to the general public. It’s going to even be achieved by
exploiting the respondent's path-goal motive, developing in him qualities of receptivity and
understanding and by the removal of any specific barriers to free communication. This
necessitates the interviewer freely mixing with the villagers to win their confidence and allay
their suspicions, which demands the event of a friendly and not a matter-of-fact official way
of approach. For, once confidence is gained, the interviewing work becomes easy.

The buildup of rapport as of the succeeding stages of interviewing like probing is especially
a matter of cultivation and training, which is that the second and more important facet of
interviewing. One a part of it's of a general nature and may be standardized, while the
opposite is said to particular problems, areas and kinds of respondents.

Psychological insight: the overall aspect features a psychological also as a practical side.
because the interview is actually an inter-personal relationship, a knowledge of the main
psychological dimensions behind this relationship is important . The defences, varying
motivations, and diverse perceptions of the respondent need to be understood and neutralized.
so as to try to to this successfully the interviewer must place himself, as far as possible,
within the place of the opposite person, to participate in his experience, to ascertain life as he
sees it, to enter into his hopes and plans, and to be sympathetic with their realization. This
suggests an insight into and adjustment to socio-psychological manifestation.
 WORKS CITED

1. Gopal, M. H. “THE INTERVIEW AS A RESEARCH TOOL AND THE NEED FOR

SYSTEMATIC TRAINING IN ITS USE.” Indian Economic Review, vol. 4, no. 2,
Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, 1958, pp.
39–50, http://www.jstor.org/stable/29793156.
2. BMS Faculty- https://www.utwente.nl/en/bms/datalab/datacollection/methods/

3. Wikipedia- Data
collection, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Data_collection&oldid=1049936190